RR--I asked the question, I don't have the answer. I stopped attending church more than 40 years ago. What I saw in the first 20 years of my life, and what I see with my brother's evangelical church, and churches in the south, is that charity goes to church members down on their luck. That is a good thing. But how evenly is charity distributed to those who may be more needy, or of a different color, that don't belong to that particular church--or like me, to any?

Of course with the new pope, we know that the money is going to the needy, not to a fancy car, fancy apartment, or new dishes! Francis rocks! Hasn't been a pope like him since John XXIII.

I like it, the ruling class is a bunch of parasites sucking the life blood out of us tax payers.

Yes... the mechanism they use to do that has been dubbed "trickle down economics."
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You've got to be kidding!!!
Since when did basic commerce (trickle down economics) evolve into the ruling class sucking the blood out of working citizens?
Your brain is in backwards, how do you try to walk forward?_________________I don't drink the 'cool' aid, I drink tequila, it's more honest.

RR--I asked the question, I don't have the answer. I stopped attending church more than 40 years ago. What I saw in the first 20 years of my life, and what I see with my brother's evangelical church, and churches in the south, is that charity goes to church members down on their luck. That is a good thing. But how evenly is charity distributed to those who may be more needy, or of a different color, that don't belong to that particular church--or like me, to any?

Interesting comment and one I have seriously struggled with in the past from attending various churches. I came to conclude that churches are made up of different, unique, and mostly imperfect people , and every church has it's strengths and weaknesses as a result. Too often people make judgemental statements of "churches" much in the same way some would make prejudiced statements of a "race". With regards to the examples you provided, is that the cold hard facts or what you perceive it to be? I attended a church once that seemed like a cliquey country club and I felt the same way about that place, but when I dug deeper I realized that was "my" perception fueled by me feeling like an outsider. If you're looking for a "perfect" church then I can honestly tell you to quit trying as long as they are filled with imperfect people....like me.

With regards to charitable giving there is really so much that flies under the radar, and I can agree there is always way more room to give more but that is just an ugly aspect of human nature. I've sent family members on missions trips, and supported others to do the same without any tax deduction to show for it. Probably the wealthiest people I know took in a young single mother and her child....just like the movie "Blind Side" ...no tax deduction or children's aid benefit, etc. That is not nearly uncommon as one might think. I can't even tell you how many times of heard of this or that big dollar donations of property, etc. done anonymously.

I like it, the ruling class is a bunch of parasites sucking the life blood out of us tax payers.

A local newspaper op ed poster claimed the wealth gap is inherently a problem, and that its only fix is forced wealth redistribution. One response countered with this:
"This mistakenly presumes Bill Gates forces us to give him our money. In reality, Gates, like most millionaires, earns his wealth by producing products and jobs that enrich our lives, often our bank accounts. IRS data show that millionaires are less than one percent of all taxpayers but pay more than 20 percent of total federal income tax revenue.

A nationís economy is measured by the size of the economic pie it produces, aka its GDP, not by how the pie is sliced. President Obama admitted in his 2008 ABC debate that that pie will shrink if it is taken from those who bake it, bureaucrats eat their fill, and the cold leftovers are given to those who just want free pizza."

Gates (or Jobs) never sucked any money out of me I didn't willingly offer, and both have enriched my life in many ways.

Oh, that ruling class. I was thinking of the oligarchy who influence it so heavily. Our president stated recently that he plans to devote the rest of his term to fighting the biggest threat our nation faces: income inequality. The fool thinks rich people actually take their money from my pocket and/or paycheck against my will, and that radical Islam in general, Iran in particular, his economic house of cards, socialized medicine, his total failure as a leader and manager, etc., are lesser threats.

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